Country Road

OVERALL

Owned

ZAF

Rating

Clothing

Founded in 1974, South Africa's Woolworth Holdings secured a controlling interest in Country Road in 1998. Solomon Lew owned a strategic 12% stake for 17 years, which he sold in 2014 during Woolworths' acquisition of David Jones. Acquired Witchery in 2012 and Politix in 2016.

Company Ownership

Founded in South Africa in 1931. Today the South African investment company has retail operations throughout Africa and into the Middle East, plus they own Australian retail chains Country Road and David Jones. It is not related to Woolworths Ltd in Australia.

Company Assessment

A- grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's 'Ethical Fashion Report 2019', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policies, transparency and traceability, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental management.[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights]

This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2014 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about an internet ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ad was subsequently discontinued or modified.[Source 2014][More on Irresponsible Marketing]

This company is a signatory to CitySwitch Green Office, a national tenant energy efficiency program run in partnership between business and local government. The program works with office tenants to improve their energy efficiency, thereby reducing carbon pollution.[Source 2018][More on Climate Change]

Country Road is mentioned in the 'Workplace human rights Reporting: A study of Australian garment and retail companies' paper as having policies on 'forced or compulsory labour' (Note no policy specifically relating to 'child labour' or 'freedom of association'). Information gathered was from annual reports, CSR reports, and the corporate website, for the 2009/2010 year. Policy in there areas are particularly important in the clothing and electronics industries (though policy does not imply compliance). [Source 2012][More on Human Rights]

This company has committed to making products with RWS-certified wool. The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) is a voluntary global standard which ensures that sheep are treated with respect to their five freedoms and also ensures best practices in the management and protection of the land. However PETA claim the RWS is a kind of greenwash. (http://bit.ly/2oH56o6)[Source 2018][More on Animal Rights]

This company has a number of corporate responsibility claims on its website covering the areas of employees, community, environment and ethical trade. Initiatives include sourcing non-mulesed wool, supporting charities, waste and recycling schemes, installation of water tanks and implementing their Code of Labour Practice.[Source 2012][More on Sustainability Reporting]

This company is a member of the Leather Working Group, a multi-stakeholder group who's objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

Oxfam Australia's Company Tracker compares the big clothing brands on their efforts to pay a living wage to the women working in their factories. This company has released the names and addresses of at least 70% of their supplier factories, but has taken no action towards paying a living wage, and does not have a satisfactory grievance mechanism in place for workers to report violations of their rights.[Source 2019][More on Workers Rights]

In May 2011 Country Road payed former CEO John Cheston $1.1m to settle a lawsuit. Cheston was suing the company for $6.5m for misleading conduct in his hiring and breach of contract when dismissing him without notice.[Source 2011][More on Governance]

This company has signed the Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. The Uzbek government uses local government officials, hospital directors, and school presidents to mobilize workers; and detains and tortures human rights defenders seeking to monitor the harvests. [Source 2019][More on Human Rights]

Wikipedia lists a number of controversies for this company: In October 2010, Woolworths came under fire as they opted to remove Christian magazines from their shelves and discontinue their sale; In 2012 the South African Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Woolworths' vintage cold drink range was an imitation of a rival soft drinks range; In September 2012 Woolworths was accused of racism by some groups for allegedly discriminating against white job applicants and staff; In October 2013 rumours of plagiarism surfaced when Euodia Roets, a South African artist, accused Woolworths of using her designs that were kept as sample after contract negations which failed.[Source 2015][More on Human Rights]

This company is a member of the CanopyStyle initiative, which came about when research found that millions of trees are used every year to produce dissolving pulp, a key ingredient for fabrics such as rayon/viscose. The campaign seeks to phase out the use of endangered forest fibre in fabric.[Source 2018][More on Forests]

In Nov 2012 the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) and Woolworths announced a broad-based, multifaceted partnership to drive greater sustainability through selected Woolworths products and operations. The three year partnership "recognises the growing congruence between WWF-SA and Woolworths interests in, among others: the conservation of energy; freshwater ecosystems; the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices; and the protection of fish stocks."[Source 2012][More on Forests]

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; report climate change information in mainstream reports as a fiduciary duty; remove commodity-driven deforestation from all supply chains by 2020; improve water security.[Source 2017][More on Climate Change]

Compassion in World Farming is a UK-based organisation which works with the European food industry to encourage and reward commitment, transparency, performance and innovation in the field of animal welfare. This company won their Good Egg Award in 2014 for their work with free-range eggs.[Source 2014][More on Animal Rights]

This company was designated a "New Sustainability Champion" in this 2010 document (page 42) from the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group. New Sustainability Champions proactively turn constraints into opportunities through innovation, embed sustainability in their company culture, and actively shape their business environments.[Source 2010][More on Governance]

This company is a member of the Leather Working Group, a multi-stakeholder group who's objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

In 2012 Woolworths Holdings won the International Responsible Retailer of the Year Award at the World Retail Congress for the third time in five years. Improved indicators include carbon footprint, water and packaging reduction, sustainable clothing and food products.[Source 2012][More on Governance]

This company is a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a not-for-profit, membership organisation that leads work with buyers and suppliers to deliver improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains. Tens of thousands of companies use Sedex to manage their performance around labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.[Source 2018][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]

Related News

David Jones acquired by South Africa's Woolworths 20th Jul 2014 — David Jones became foreign owned in July 2014, ending 176 years of Australian ownership, after being acquired by South Africa's Woolworths for $2.2 billion. Woolworths also owns clothing retail group Country Road. [source]